How Important is Convenience In Fashion?

We all look for the easier option these days. After all, why would we worry about trekking into the town centre at the weekend when we can whip out our smartphone, load up an app and add items to a basket at the touch of a finger? Our lives have become one big integrated network of mobile linking apps and convenience that stems from swiping your phone over a card machine to pay for something to setting an alarm for toilet paper to be delivered. And this has carried through into the world of fashion.

As a trend, convenience is important. People want to be able to order something quickly, easily and have it arrive the next day. 40% of online sales are now made on mobile devices and for the fashion industry this is where the opportunities lie. Most retailers have a mobile app now that users can purchase from, whether you’re looking for a new coat or Blue Vanilla knitwear now that the cooler weather has arrived. Again, it all comes down to convenience. Would you rather stay in your pyjamas on a Saturday morning and order something to be delivered or get up and brave the queues? Do you want to go to the trouble of loading up your laptop to shop online or do you want to swipe through items on your smartphone, which is permanently attached to your hand anyway?

When it comes to choosing what to wear now we even turn to others to tell us what would look best. Fashion bloggers and vloggers are more easily accessible than a fashion magazine and usually offer unbiased opinions on products. We can also find bloggers we relate to, or feel like we have things in common with, to take advice from and gain access to these via our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts. Convenience is what is driving sales. More and more retailers are offering easier ways of gaining access to their products and we are reaping the rewards. It’s not just retailers who are keeping convenience in mind. This year’s London Fashion Week enjoyed a new location; based in Soho the event saw a greater sense of ease introduced, with many shows taking place around the same location, meaning those attending could simply walk to the next show instead of attempting to reach the other side of London in time.

This convenience encouraged more people to the event, who might have been put off in recent years by the peacocking and the rushing and the stress that reaching the shows might have caused before. Convenience is making its way into the clothing designs themselves too, although that might not be the correct word – comfort is a better way of explaining the current trend, with loungewear sneaking in to replace smart trousers for the office. Milan Fashion Week, earlier this year, showcased a plethora of comfortable looking menswear styles that sort of reminded you of pyjamas, but you also thought you could get away with wearing them to work. When it comes to convenience in fashion, its importance looks like it should only increase as people opt for ease and instant accessibility at all times.

Amelia Grace